Hydraulic dredger



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

O. E. & F. ELLIOOTT.

HYDRAULIC DRBDGER.

No. 503,655; Patented. Aug. 22,1393.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. ELLIOOTT AND FRANCIS ELLICOTT, OF LAKE ROLAND, MARYLAND.

HYDRAULIC DREDGER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 503,655, dated August 22, 1893. A

' 7' Application filed June 25,1891. SerlalNo. 397,455. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, CHARLES E. ELLICOTT and FRANCIS ELLICOTT, citizens of the United States, and residents of Lake Roland, in the county of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hydraulic Dredges, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to dredges for dredging mud, of the class generally known as hydraulic excavators, by which the mud is dug by a suitable digging apparatus or stirred up by a suitable stirrer and then forced through pipes supported upon floating pontons to any desired point of deposit.

The object of our invention is to secure great economy in operation, to dig the mud solid, and throw it ashore at the least expense of power. For this purpose, we employ a mechanical digger, such for instance as a chain and bucket elevator; which, when placed near the bottom in contact with the mud bank, will dig the mud in solid form and deliver it to any desired point. The form of pumping mechanism employed for forcing the mud to the point of deposit may be of any kind suitable for the purpose; the particular feature of our invention however, consists of the intermediate mechanism, between the digger and pump, in which the mud is received mixed with water to a proper consistency and sucked into the pump mechanism.

In the drawings:--Eigure 1, represents a section of our dredge, showing the relations of the various parts. Fig. 2, is a plan of the same. a

In the drawings, A is the boat, having a semi-circular forward end B, which is provided on its outer edge with a track 0 and a rack 0 C is a derrick, pivoted so as to permit the structure sustained by it to swing around the front of the boat on the arc of the bow B, the front end being supported and traveling on the track 0 on the bow B.

D is the chain and bucket excavator, secured to a suitable frame and sustained by the derrick or carriage C, and traveling on the bow B.

E indicates a pump suitably located upon the boat.

e is the suction pipe, connected to the pump at one end and provided on its outer end, immediately below the pivot of the derrick, with a joint e which will permit a horizontal motion of the end of the pipe; this joint may be any kind of a flexible or a swiveled joint.

- e is an external section of said suction pipe. e is a hopper or flared end of the suction pipe e which is turned upward and in position to receive the mud as it is dropped from the excavator or digger; this hopper may be provided across its mouth with a grating e of a suitable character to prevent the admission of things injurious to the pump. The hopper is suspended from the under side of the derrick O by chains a structure by which the excavator is operated is also a new one and constitutes one of the features of our invention. It is fully illustrated in Fig. 1.

D is the chain and bucket elevator and excavator. v

d is a shaft, journaled horizontally upon the derrick O and upon which is keyed a sprocket wheel 01 with which meshes the sprocket chain 61 by which the excavator is driven. d is a pulley also keyed to said shaft.

0 is a vertical shaft journaled in suitable support 0 the axis of which is coincident with the axis of the pivot of the derrick C. The pivot of the derrick 0 consists of asleeve 0 on theinner end of the derrick G and which is stepped at the lower end in the pedestal 0 and at the upper end in the guy bar 0 Upon this shaft is keyed the fly-wheel 0 from which power is communicated to the pulley d by the belt 0 It will be seen that, as the derrick and excavator are swung round the end of the boat, the pulleys d and 0 always retain the same relative position to one another, and the belt will always act ina similar manher and drive the excavator. A similar construction is used to drive the carriage and derrick around the end of the boat.

0 c, and c are three pulleys upon the shaft 0.

c and c are loose and c is fast.

0 is a vertical countershaft sustained in bearings upon the derrick 0. Upon its upper end are three pulleys 0 ,0 and 0 o and e are loose while 0 is fast. A straight belt The mechanical ICC e connects the pulleys c and while a half turned belt '0 connects c andc ,'soas'to give 0 a reverse motion from 0 It will be seen that, as these belts are alternately shifted from tight to loose pulleys, the shaft 0 will be turned: one wayor the other asthe; case may be. On the lower end of this coun-- ter shaft 0 is a screw 0 meshing with a worm wheel 0 keyed to a counter shaft 0 on the opposite end of which is a gear wheel 0 engaging arack 0 on the curved end of the boat, by which the derrick and the devices sustained byfiit aremovedii 0 0 are wheels j ournaled upon theunder side of the frame work of the derrick and traveling on a track 0 on the front end of ahopperion the dredge boat, from whence it is pumped to any desired point; but thefl'us'e f heretofore made of I thisprin'cip'lelac-ks several veryimportant elements'of our invention; The elevation of the mud to-apoint high enough to deliver it on the boat requiresw largemachine and agreat expenditure of power; while,xto'supplythe =hopper*witl suffi'oient water: to dilutethe mud" to a proper consistency,wouldrequire an additionalpump of considerable capacity. We submerge-our suction pipe with its *hopper; and suck water and mud into it together. The: hopper may be entirely submerged, or the'to'p of 'itmay be slightly out of Water; and its sides maybe perforated or not as may bG'fOllzIld necessary. Wesup'portthedigger'and suctionpipe by-a derrick; andswin'g them united and sustained together and in constant relative position, around the-endofthe boat," so as thereby to dig; al-WidB'SW-flithflf mud with one adjustment of the apparatus; in relation to the mud bank operated upon orthe digger and s'uction pipe may be fixed in the center-of the bow, and the boat" be provided with a single spudat the stern; and anchors and guyropes at the bow, blyiwhich the"wholeboat maybe. swung-iin an i archavingthe single'spud as acenten Themouth". of 'the "suction pipe bein g sub merged or nearly so,=-is always supplied-with an abun-- dance of water; The elevatorhas onlytoiift:

the -mud tothesurface'of the water or slightly above it; thus consuming the least possible; ,quan'tit y'of power by lifting the mud princtpally 'under water. v i

What we claim, and desire to secure by- Letters Patent; is-

1. I'n a dredge theco'mbination of a me-' chanical excavator, a hydraulic discharging;

apparatusand asuction-pipe its mouthbeing; submerged belovwthesurface of the surroundingjwater, the end of the pipe'beingprovidedz with afhopper placed inposition to receive the mud'lifted above the surface of the waterand dropped:by.the digger, which mud in entering the suction pipe must passback into the water, substantially as described.

2. In a dredge, the combination of a suction pipe the mouth of which is submerged, segcure-d tothefront of the boat-by a flexible joint and provided on its end with ahopper andopen- "in'g upward and a chainand bucket digger and elevator and means whereby the elevating exjc'avator-and suction pipe are swung back and forth across the end of the boat while remaining in proper relative position to dig aswath 10f:- mud with one adjustment of the machine. a 3. In a-dredge, the combination of a suction pipe the mouth of which is submerged, secured to the front of a boat by aflexible joint and provided on 'it'scnd with=a hopper opening upward, a -crane mountedupon the boat, a chain" and" bucket excavator swung from the crane and arranged to swingiround the end' of the boat, the suction pipeandel'e- 'Tvatorbeingconnected so as-to' move together and retain theirrelativepositions; substan? tially, as describedf i 4: In a dredge; the'combihation of a sucftion' pipe the mouth 'of whichis submerged secured to the frontof a' boat by'a flexible jjoint' and provided on the'end witlr a hopper openin g upward, with a chain andbuclfiet exfcavator mounted upon a 'carriagearranged'to travel on a track provided for-the purpose; fand' means for propelling the" carriageand i suction pipe, substantially as described? f v 5'; ma dredge; the combination of a'suc- *tion'pipeLtlie' mou thiof which is submerged, se'cure'd tothe front of a boat by-a fl'exible fjointan'd provided om itsend' with-ahopper iopening; upwardj a1 derricl' pivo'ted upon a Eboat; a chain and bucket excavator: swung from' the derrick and arranged to swing around the end ofithe boat,La-vertical shaft journaled' so that its -axis 'isucoincidentlwith the-axis=of the pivot ot" the. derrick, a pulley keyed to said shaft; abelt runniiigupon said Epull'eyand engaging another pulley 'j'eu'rnaled upon the derrick b'oomand movingwithit, ?from I whichpulley the excavator is driven, and power transmitting-mechanism connect- !ing the countershaft -on the boormwitli the excavator,whereby*poweris-communicated to the'e-xcavator from the vertical shaft with equal facility no matter what position" the boom and excavator may occupy-.-

6. In-a: dredge; the cornbinationof 'a suctionpi'pethe mouth of. which is submerged secured to the boat by a flexible joint 'and ifprovided -on its end wit/ha. hopper opening upward, with achai-n' and bucket excavator mounted ona carriage arranged to travel upon a-tra'ckprovided for thezpurpose; onthe end of the boat, and a dev-icefo'r propelling said carriage, which consists of avertical shaft journaled in the mar line of the cen- Eter; of rotation of the; carriage, a-pulley secured'to said shaft, a vertical counter shaft journaled upon the carriage and provided upon one end in line with the pulley of the IOC IO Vator and submerged suction pipe, are propelled back and forth across the end of the boat, substantially as described.

7. In a dredging machine the combination with a boat having an excavating device, of

a hopper projecting from the boat and provided with an opening to allow the water in which itis partially immersed, to have access to the interior thereof, and means for withdrawing the material deposited from the hopper.

Signed at Baltimore city and State of Mary- 20 day of June, A. D. 1891. CHARLES E. ELLIGOTT. FRANCIS ELLICOTT.

land this 24th Witnesses:

FELIX R. SULLIVAN, FRANK H. LONGFELLOW. 

